Mayor's progress report: Carlsbad splash pads now open

As we’ve arrived at May, it’s a good time to talk about some of the wonderful facilities we have around town.

This past week, the Bob Forrest Youth Sports Complex held a USSSA Softball Tournament, “Angels for Autism,” under the direction of USSSA Director Jeff Munro. We had 36 total teams from Southeastern New Mexico and West Texas competing, with each team guaranteed five games.

With motel prices so high, many of our teams relied on RVs for a place to rest. We had 42 RVs parked in our soccer parking lot, which gave teams a place to rest and recuperate during the Saturday and Sunday tournament. Special thanks to our Sports Complex Superintendent, Ted Cordova, and the excellent staff. We look forward to another busy season at the sports complex.

Our two splash pads, the one at the beach and the one at the sports complex, are now open as well. The sports complex pad is open Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. until the final game concludes. The beach splash pad is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. We hope you will enjoy cooling off at our splash pads this year.

Memorial Day is just around the corner, and that also means that things are picking up at the Carlsbad Water Park. The water park will be open Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend, and we have a great team of lifeguards under park manager Brad Alpers. We’re still doing weekend rentals, but the spots are filling up quickly, so call us today.

Housing remains one of the biggest issues in Carlsbad. This past week, we were honored to be a part of a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Colina Vista Apartments off of 5th Street. Over the past two years, this project has undergone a $7.2 million renovation, which included low income tax credits from the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. We congratulate Bouchee Development and New Mexico Inter-Faith Housing on a job well done. The interior of the community center is beautiful.

Congratulations to the new Superintendent of Carlsbad Municipal Schools, Dr. Gerry Washburn. We will work with Dr. Washburn and his staff to build a bright future for Carlsbad’s youth.

Congratulations also to this year’s 40 Under 40 Class, hosted by the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. We would like to especially congratulate our City of Carlsbad employees who were selected: Brittany Aragon, Jarod Florez, Brent Griffith, Cari Pickens, Kadee Rodriguez and Melissa Salcido. We’re very proud to be working with such talented individuals. Congratulations to Missi Currier for doing an outstanding job as chairwoman of this event.

As always, Carlsbad is having an incredible spring sports season. The Carlsbad Current-Argus reported that, on April 18, softball pitcher Ashley Hernandez threw a perfect game at about the same time that pitcher T.J. Ruiz threw a no-hitter just a field away. That’s a one in several million event, but we bet it happens more frequently here in Carlsbad.

Finally, a very sincere congratulations is in order for all of our Carlsbad High School graduates, but most especially our two City Hall interns, Jaydin Contreras and Aaron Braddock. Jaydin, a senior at Carlsbad High School, plans to attend New Mexico Tech in Socorro and become an engineer. Braddock has been with us for the past two years and plans to attend Northeastern University in Boston. We’ve always been very fortunate to have such talented interns who have a bright future ahead of them. Please have a safe graduation celebration and congratulations again.